I highly recommend reading the sections that deal with reporting for radio (begins on page 281 of The Daily Miracle) and reporting for television (begins page 288 of The Daily Miracle). Some handy tips 'n tricks to consider!
The first section of the chapter also outlines a history of the various broadcast mediums in Australia with strengths and weaknesses they have had during their evolution into dominant media forms.
Now, without any further ado...
J. JONAH JAMESON QUOTE OF THE WEEK!
[Discussing his son's wedding with his wife over the phone] "Flowers? How much? If you spend any more on this thing, you can pick the daisies off my grave! Get plastic!"
WEEK THE 12th ROUND OF DISCUSSION QUESTIONS (p. 294):
1. Do you think the ABC should be privatised? What impact might this have on broadcast journalism? If you disagree, could the government funding process be made less 'political'?
No, the ABC should not be privatised because as this week's textbook chapter reading indicated, "a poll in 2004 revealed that the ABC was the second most trusted organisation in Australia. The most trusted was The Salvation Army" (p. 268). So, privatisation or commercialisation would undermine the credibility of its news programs and other current affairs shows, which are focused on providing quality, balanced reporting.
Michael Warby, editor of the Australian Institute of Public Affairs publication IPA Review, argued years ago that the ABC should be privatised, dismantled, or radically reformed (p. 269).
This is precisely the opposite of what the ABC needs in order to continue to function as a balanced and impartial network, despite the further claims by Warby about the influence of its staff. Describing it as a 'staff-captured' organisation, he said he believed that ABC journalists represent an 'opinion cartel' (p. 269).
The impact of privatisation would create widespread public dissatisfaction and we would be inundated with, to put it bluntly, copious amounts of Americanised rubbish and constant crappy commercials. The government funding process couldn't really be made less 'politcal' because the ABC is funded by the people for the people, and the government is entrusted to spend the public's money wisely on quality programming. On another note concerning 'left wing bias' allegations which have repeatedly surfaced against the ABC, my view is that it isn't governed by an specific political agenda, rather it is a media organisation which is 'people orientated', a value which the Labor Party or 'left-wing' traditionally privileges more so than the Liberals.
2. You are a television news director with two strong job applications. One is from a 'telegenic' male, 28, with reasonable skill and experience. The other is from a female, 38. She is of 'average' appearance but has considerable skill and experience. Your present reporting staff consists of four females and one male, none older than 32. Who do you hire, and why?
Since the newsroom has a lack of males, and all the existing employees are not older than 32, it would make sense to hire another young recruit and give him training and work experience, whilst simultaneously balancing the genders. Of course, I'd have to look more closely at their applications, but given the information I've got from the question, that's my decision. Plus, television journalism is predominately about visuals, and someone who looks good on camera is going to appeal to viewers much more!
3. Given the strengths and weaknesses of each medium, which do you think is the 'best communicator' on any given story: radio, television, the web, or newspapers?
All mediums have their advantages and disadvantages. As mentioned in the chapter, broadcast mediums have the advantage of breaking stories first, but print has more of an opportunity to develop an in-depth analysis of any given issue, as the reader has the chance to re-read the material, whereas broadcast is only one chance. TV and radio are accessible by many people, and a most certainly the most widely used mediums for receiving news due to their 'interactive' style. Web material works well as a valuable news resource, but not everyone has easy access to it, so that is where it falls down as an effective communicator. For example, by 1975 there were more radios in America than people, bathtubs, or telephones! An amazing statistic! (Daily Miracle, p. 265). Despite this, I believe that television is the 'best communicator' as it gives a clear and concise summary of a news story. As put by The Daily Miracle, "Television's demands for 'vision' give it less flexibility than radio, but it can use techniques of both film and theatre. Therefore it has more tools than any other medium" (p. 279).
'Television can combine the sound and the audience-orientation of radio, the live continuous performance of theatre and the electronic techniques of film. It is capable of fusing the best of all previous communications media (Hillard 1981, pp. 15-16).
4. During the last federal election campaign do you think the broadcast media focused more on issues or personalities? What could have been done better?
To be quite honest, I wasn't very switched onto politics and the federal election as much as I am now, because I was only 16 years old. All I can really remember was that Mark Latham was the leader of the Opposition (ALP), and John Howard (Liberal Party) won the election. Broadcast media seemed to focus more on the candidates rather than policy because in Australia, party politics criticise each other's leadership credentials and dig up personal information which may work against the leader of a party, rather than focusing on policies and the development of fresh and innovative thinking. Is that very democratic? Both major political parties, Liberal and Labor, have become very similar in their approach to politics, and so as a result the broadcast coverage has become less and less about policy. Anyway, this blog is not designed for a political debate...
JOURNALISM ISSUE ENTRY:
This chapter of "The Miracle" has highlighted one thing from the opening sentence (which just so happens to be the opening sentence):
Compared with print, television as a medium is warm, entertaining, and 'human' (p. 261).
As of much of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, this has been particularly true, with more and more people turning to the broadcast mediums for their news; i.e. 'the world's town crier'.
They do have advantages, they do have disadvantages [over print form]. I liked this summary about the broadcast medium approach towards error:
"If a radio or television reporter makes an on-air mistake it vanishes into the ether. If a web journalist makes an error, a story can be taken offline, corrected, and put back online. But if a newspaper reporter makes a mistake the consequences can be more serious and embarrassing" (p. 263).
The nature of print news, while providing more in-depth analysis on a topic than a broadcast medium can given the time constraints, its lack of flexibility can result in its ultimate downfall.
Plus, as pointed out in the chapter, audiences are easily bored, distracted or frustrated when watching news content. For example: "The average length of a streamed video news story segment on ABC Broadband in 2005 was just under 40 seconds. A television news story may have a 20-second minimum but a maximum of perhaps two minutes" (p. 263). That is the nature of the news today. I've come up with my own quip, which identifies the public's view on news access:
"Give it to me in 10, or forget it, then!" Pretty clever?
Oh, and another thing which this reading has made me continue wondering. Why do people listen to commercial radio stations?
They pump you full of ads, have constant mindless chatter and play terrible mainstream music...and when they do manage to jump on the bandwagon of, let's call it 'alternative' music, they repeat the songs non-stop and ruin their credibility!
My question to all of you radio listeners out there is: Why subject yourself to this, well, (there is no other word for it; TORTURE)?
Triple J all the way, baby!
Need I remind you that this is my blog, and I can say whatever I please? Because I'm going to anyway, and nobody will stop me or tell me otherwise of my firmly established stance on this!
However, on a more disappointing note, all you Triple J fans should read this ABC online article concerning this amazingly talented (not to mention utterly stunning!) TV/radio personality if you haven't already:
Follow the link:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/10/10/2055588.htm?section=justin
I think I've made my points on these issues clear! No further entries for this week.
Zeej McQueen out!
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